A program of musical activities for trainable mentally retarded children

Abstract

With the recent development of public school programs for the trainable mentally retarded, new problems have arisen with regard to the planning and implementation of the activities prescribed by such educational programs. One of the most important of these activities is music, which can furnish these children with such a variety of interest and usch a wealth of enjoyment. It was the purpose of this study, then, (1) to examine the value of music in fulfilling some of the physical, emotional, and psychological needs of mentally retarded children in a special classroom situation, (2) to outline a program of musical activities, giving careful consideration to the needs of these children, and (3) to evaluate the effectiveness of the suggested musical activities by examining the individual responses of trainable mentally retarded children to these activities. [TRUNCATED]